Monascus-pigment is a naturally-occurring red edible pigment, produced by a microorganism of genus Monascus, which has been widely used since antiquity in China and East-South Asian countries in various foodstuffs, e.g., An-chiu and Tou-Fu-Ju.
Recent increasing concern on the use of edible colouring agents has banned various synthetic colouring agents which have a potential of carcinogenicity and/or teratogenicity. This circumstance has inevitably increased demands for highly-safe, naturally-occurring edible colouring agents, one of which is Monascus-pigment.
Some previous studies on the Monascus-pigment production have been reported: for example, J. Ferment. Technol., Vol. 51, No. 6, pp. 407-414 (1973), and Agr. Biol. Chem., Vol. 39, No. 9, pp. 1789-1795 (1975).
Also, some processes for the Monascus-pigment production have been disclosed in Japan Kokai No. 4/80 which describes that the use of a microorganism of genus Monascus with a possible low amylase-producing capability is preferable; and in Japan Patent Publication No. 44,880/73 which describes that desirable constituents for culture medium are saccharides, e.g., glucose and dextrin, and water-soluble proteins.
All attempts disclosed in the patent applications, however, proved unsatisfactorily from point of view of Monascus-pigment yields.